Hyundai had unveiled their battery-powered electric sedan, the Ioniq electric, at the New York Auto Show earlier this year. Slated to be launched in the US in November, Hyundai said that they would have a 250-mile range electric car towards the end of the decade.
Hyundai has been working on electric cars and technology for the past six years and the upcoming years will see accelerated development in this field. The Ioniq electric is already on sale in Hyundai’s home country – South Korea and has started off as a 110-mile (175kms) range electric vehicle. The Ioniq will also get hybrid options in future.
Hyundai has targeted a 2018 date to build a 200-mile (320km) range electric car with its sister companies Kia and Genesis and plan to extend the range up to 250 miles by 2020. The Hyundai group of companies also plan to introduce eight more electric cars, 10 hybrid cars, eight plug-in hybrids and two hydrogen fuel cell powered cars by the end of this decade.
The Korean car maker’s emphasis on building an alternative energy source portfolio underlines the shift of the automobile industry away from fossil fuel technology. Also, Hyundai has been clear about offering their new products for the mass market and is not aiming to compete with the likes of Tesla in the luxury electric vehicle segment as yet
